The Wedding
by loatm993
Summary: The 15-year-old daughter of Hisao Nakai attends the wedding of Rin and Emi.
1. CHAPTER ONE: We're going to a wedding!

"Freak!" yelled the boy. "Stupid freak with your stupid made-up name!" yelled his friend. "If you think you're a girl, why don't you at least try to look like one?" yelled a third boy. At the age of 15, Fiero Nakai had seen it all. Her parents had pretended the move to Yamaku was only because of Dad's job there, but their scheme was see-through. A new school where she wouldn't be made fun of… right? She'd had to sit through Principal Hakamichi's special assembly on tolerance as the whole school watched her with bolted-fast eyes instead of looking at the interpreter, students tearing down the new gender-neutral bathroom signs on the day they went up, and worst of all, Dad's endless lectures on how he knew _exactly_ how hard it was to change schools and how there was nothing shameful about going to a "special" school. Students with every conceivable disability and she, healthy as a horse, was the class freak. And somehow in all their scheming her parents had never noticed how living just a few blocks from the school was so very conducive to being followed back and forth by hollering bullies.

She slammed the front door on them only to find her mother wearing a rictus grin and standing directly in her path. "Dad and I want to talk to you in the kitchen," she said melodiously. Dumbfounded, Fiero followed her to find her father sitting at the kitchen table. In front of him was a folded card printed on creamy smooth pale blue paper. There was a scattering of stylized blossoms decorating the front. Without asking permission, Fiero unfolded the card to read:

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED

TO THE WEDDING OF

RIN TEZUKA AND EMI IBARAZAKI

ON

THE THIRTEENTH OF APRIL, TWO THOUSAND AND THIRTY THREE

This was followed by an address in Tokyo.

"Some old high school friends of mine are getting married," Dad said, smiling. Dad had about a billion old high school friends, an absurd number of whom seemed to be beautiful women. Fiero often wondered how on earth he had ever settled on Mom. Fiero had been to old high school friend's birthday parties and Christmas parties and New Year's parties and summer gatherings. She had been to Tanabata and fall festivals with them. She had been fishing and yachting and over for tea, but she had never been to a wedding.

"Is this a lesbian wedding?" she suddenly blurted, looking at the names again.

"Well… yes," said Mom, smiling awkwardly. Mom was a firm believer that practicing "tolerance" means never talking about what one is being "tolerant" of. Fiero had learned this the hard way through the long process of changing her name, her legal gender, and her school.

"This wedding is on Friday the thirteenth," Fiero, said suddenly realizing. "Rin would think that was funny," said Dad. "Why? Are you superstitious? Don't you worry, I'll protect you from evil. Don't you have faith in your good old Dad?"

"No, no. I'm not superstitious," Fiero mumbled. Something else occurred to her. "What will I wear to this wedding?" She thought of her closet full of sweatshirts and cargo pants.

"I was just getting to that," said Mom. "Since the wedding is in Tokyo, we, Yuuko, and Hakamichi-san are all going to drive up to stay with Satou-san and Ikezawa-san for the weekend. You remember them, don't you?" Fiero nodded. "I was thinking that they could take you shopping and help you pick something out. Just you girls together. Won't that be nice?" She smiled an extra-patronizing grin. "How is a blind woman going to help me shop?" Fiero thought, remembering vaguely the previous times she had met Lilly Satou. She had the forethought not to say it out loud, lest her parents no doubt chastise her ignorance.

"We've already arranged to have you excused from school for the rest of the week," Dad said. "We leave on Wednesday." Before he could say anything else, Fiero announced, "I'm going to Aura Mart," grabbed her sweatshirt and headed for the door.


	2. INTERLUDE: Encounter at Aura Mart

"Fiero!" Yuuko greeted her cheerfully and quite frighteningly as it was without warning as she turned the aisle. Yuuko had a way of popping up suddenly. "Did your parents tell you about the wedding? I'm so excited! I knew Rin and Emi when they were in school with your dad and all the others. Did you know that?" Fiero did. "I haven't seen them in years! I would never have guessed they would end up together." Fiero nodded a curt "uh-huh" as she grabbed a tub of yogurt from the shelf. Yuuko followed her, babbling on happily as Fiero headed to pay for the yogurt. Her dad's boss was super annoying, but at least she always got her name right.


	3. CHAPTER TWO: Welcome to Chez Lilly

And so Fiero came to spend most of Wednesday afternoon in her parent's car, sandwiched between her dad's boss and the principal of her school. Yuuko fell asleep and Hakamichi-san was impossible to talk to with Dad driving in the front and unable to act as interpreter. And Fiero had forgotten her GameBoy. So she spent three and a half hours looking for shapes in the clouds until it started to get dark. By the time they arrived she was so brain-numb she could hardly walk. She grabbed her small suitcase and headed straight for the spare bedroom she was told she had to share with her parents. She spread out her sleeping bag and lay on top of it reading a magazine until her mother banged on the door and demanded she "come out and be social," because more company had arrived and it was time for dinner.

"Hey hey hey!" called a voice that didn't sound at all like Fat Albert, since its owner was thin, blonde, and Japanese. "I brought wine for the happy couple and for you!" A figure strode in the door and Fiero's heart leapt into her throat, because she couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. This trip was getting more interesting than she could possibly have suspected. The person was pointed out to her as Akira, Satou-san's… sister? Oh. Fiero was still curious, since there was no indication if the sister had always been a sister or if that was what she would refer to herself as. Perhaps they could have a private conversation later.

"This better not turn out like that time you brought us wine in high school," said a voice from the corner. Fiero turned to see the dark-haired, scarred woman she remembered was named Hanako Ikezawa. However much Fiero tried not to be alarmed by her scarred appearance, it was difficult, so she distracted herself by turning to her favorite pastime: embarrassing her parents. "Did you drink wine in high school, Dad?" she asked incredulously. "I didn't—only Lilly and Hanako did," Hisao said truthfully. He was translating everything for Principal Hakamichi, his hands moving steadily and gracefully with years of experience. Lilly and Hanako laughed. Akira interjected, "Yeah, your dad was too busy with those goody-goodies the student council to join the 24-hour party people. And by the way, you must be… Masanori?"

The air hung silent around Fiero. "Fiero," she said. "Fiero. Sorry," said Akira slowly and with genuine apology. Shizune Hakamichi quickly interrupted with a few signs. "Where's Hideaki?" Hisao translated. "Getting the luggage from the car," replied Akira. "Alone? Why don't you be gallant and help?" Hisao translated for Shizune. Akira shrugged. As if on cue, Hideaki appeared, carrying two suitcases and wearing a smart women's business suit with a skirt. Now Fiero's evening was really getting interesting. You see, until two years ago, Hideaki had been known as Shizune's younger brother.


	4. CHAPTER THREE: Dinner and Conversation

And so they ate dinner, the nine of them. It was crowded in Lilly and Hanako's house. Lilly's cooking was excellent. Fiero wondered why Lilly and Hanako lived together. Were they a couple? She decided to ask her Dad after dinner.

The conversation was polite and strained, mostly about the business of running Yamaku Academy, how Hisao had met his wife Makoto in college, and Rin and Emi and how no one would have ever guessed they would end up together. Fiero stayed out of it. Afterward, the adults continued to exchange awkward pleasantries. Lilly got up, saying she was going to wash the dishes. Fiero volunteered to help her. Her Mom seemed pleased with her politeness.

Fiero gathered up all the dishes since Lilly couldn't see where they were, then conveyed them to the kitchen where Lilly waited with a scrub and a sink full of hot water. Everyone else was still sitting in the dining room. Fiero handed dishes to Lilly, Lilly washed them, then Fiero dried them. They worked in silence for a minute or two.

"How is school?" Lilly asked in a melodious voice. "Fine," said Fiero. "That's good," said Lilly. "I have fond memories of Yamaku. The library is wonderful, isn't it? I'm so glad your father is working there now. He and Hakamichi-san are really working to make the school as great for your generation as it was when we were there."

There was a pause. Then Lilly Satou said in her voice like liquid gold, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," said Fiero. Lilly said: "Do you know anyone else who is… like you?"

"Just Hideaki. I've never actually met her, though. Is Akira…?"

"They're not a couple. We are cousins, you know."

"That's not what I was asking."

"Ohh. Akira is a woman. I mean, she was always a woman."

"Oh." Fiero didn't feel like bothering to teach Lilly the correct terminology. She was feeling taken aback by this whole conversation.

"Before I went to Yamaku I went to an all-girls school. I was lonely there. Then I came to Yamaku and met other blind people. That's why I asked."

"Oh." Fiero sort of wanted to say, "how dare you care if I'm lonely." But she also felt a bit touched.

Later, the adults were all talking in the living room, except for Hisao and Shizune, who had already gone to bed. Perhaps they were simply tired of the awkwardness of interpreting and being interpreted for. Fiero excused herself. She was going to go ask her Dad if Hanako and Lilly were a couple. Who cares if she woke him up? Anything to bother him. Bothering him was the time of her life. She also felt genuine curiosity.

She opened the door to the bedroom, and was surprised to find that the light was on. She was even more surprised to find her father and Shizune Hakamichi in each other's arms and madly making out like there was no tomorrow.


End file.
